Lathe Duplicator

Overview

One good turn deserves another! Create precise duplicates of spindles, table legs and other turned projects. This Lathe Duplicator attaches easily to almost any floor-model lathe, and the handwheel allows for smooth operation while cutting.

Features:

Will duplicate to a maximum length of 39" (depending on the lathe used)

Maximum duplication depth-of-cut of 2-3/8"

Suitable for lathe with a turning diameter of 12" to 14"

Important Notes

There is an additional $20.00 shipping charge for this item.

What's included

(1) Lathe Duplicator

Technical Details

Will duplicate to a maximum length of 39" (depending on the lathe used)

BEST ANSWER:I'm not sure that the lathe duplicator will work on the Shopsmith because of how it mounts to the bed (or rails in the shopsmiths case). In the photos you can see there are two knobs that bolt through the bed. Those mounts allow you to move the duplicator in and out to adjust for the diameter of the piece your turning, they are also set so that the tool at the center of the work piece on 12" diameter lathes. It might be worth reading through the manual under Technical Specs (page 3) has some pictures of the mounting setup.

BEST ANSWER:I'm not sure that the lathe duplicator will work on the Shopsmith because of how it mounts to the bed (or rails in the shopsmiths case). In the photos you can see there are two knobs that bolt through the bed. Those mounts allow you to move the duplicator in and out to adjust for the diameter of the piece your turning, they are also set so that the tool at the center of the work piece on 12" diameter lathes. It might be worth reading through the manual under Technical Specs (page 3) has some pictures of the mounting setup.

BEST ANSWER:The duplicator will work with any lathe. The issue is you may have to do some minor mods to the mounting brackets to make it work for your machine. It is not made for universal mounting but, hey, we are all woodworkers always making jigs and mods to make other things work.

BEST ANSWER:The duplicator will work with any lathe. The issue is you may have to do some minor mods to the mounting brackets to make it work for your machine. It is not made for universal mounting but, hey, we are all woodworkers always making jigs and mods to make other things work.

BEST ANSWER:If you get the bed extension (I think it is the Jet BE-20, but you might have to double check) it should work. The duplicator is designed to bolt onto any 12" or 14" diameter lathe. If you look at the picture of the duplicator you'll notice that it is just shy of 4 ft long The mounting brackets are at set spacing, you will need the bed extension to have room for the tailstock.

BEST ANSWER:If you get the bed extension (I think it is the Jet BE-20, but you might have to double check) it should work. The duplicator is designed to bolt onto any 12" or 14" diameter lathe. If you look at the picture of the duplicator you'll notice that it is just shy of 4 ft long The mounting brackets are at set spacing, you will need the bed extension to have room for the tailstock.

I looked at a picture of a 1220. It looks like it will work, however you may want to check the two bed mounting points on the duplicator to make sure your bed is long enough to accept it. Also, it appears the drive motor is mounted directly under the bed so make sure you can get your bracket between the motor and the bed.

BEST ANSWER:My father , the owner of this lather, who lives in Puerto Rico and dosent speak English,and after I consulted with him this question, said that he is sure it will fit your JET, he owns a 1950 craftsman lather and it worrks perfectly,

BEST ANSWER:My father , the owner of this lather, who lives in Puerto Rico and dosent speak English,and after I consulted with him this question, said that he is sure it will fit your JET, he owns a 1950 craftsman lather and it worrks perfectly,

I think it will work on any lathe with an opening the length of the bed. Most have an open bed for moving the tail stock. I have one on a Central Machinery, and it works great. I think you will like it also.

BEST ANSWER:It should bolt onto the bed with out a problem, BUT the cutting tool will be an inch too high (since it is designed to fit a 12" lathe). I had to cut an inch off of the bottom of the fixed tubes that are welded to the Main Frame. You loose a set screw but the cutting tool is lined up with the center.

BEST ANSWER:It should bolt onto the bed with out a problem, BUT the cutting tool will be an inch too high (since it is designed to fit a 12" lathe). I had to cut an inch off of the bottom of the fixed tubes that are welded to the Main Frame. You loose a set screw but the cutting tool is lined up with the center.

It appears your lathe can turn a 10" diameter and the duplicator can fit a 12 to 14 inch lathe. When I mounted it on my 14" lathe it was way to low to the bed, we had to block it up. So, I imagine it would work with your lathe. I would expect there is still some mod work you may have to do.

BEST ANSWER:It did not fit my Grizzly 16' swing lathe as it was too low for the swing. I had to put 1.5' blocks to raise its height to center line. It was not hard to do, just took some thinking. I really found the handle to move it to be almost useless unless a very light cut was taken but I could just push it instead. I am making dining table chairs with lots of spindles and other than those problems, I have found it to be worth the buy.

BEST ANSWER:It did not fit my Grizzly 16' swing lathe as it was too low for the swing. I had to put 1.5' blocks to raise its height to center line. It was not hard to do, just took some thinking. I really found the handle to move it to be almost useless unless a very light cut was taken but I could just push it instead. I am making dining table chairs with lots of spindles and other than those problems, I have found it to be worth the buy.

I believe it will work. The cutter is minimum 6 1/8" above the bed which should be on center. There are 3 fixed brackets with approx 38" between the outer 2. The picture on the web shows the outer bracket not being used. The tail stock can be placed between the brackets for shorter work.

BEST ANSWER:I am not 100% sure the device will fit your your lathe, however; I can say with complete confidence that this device fits my Central Machinery lathe (Jet knock off) with no issues. It works as promised as long as the operator makes shallow passes. I had to order a replacement handle because I used too much torque. That's the only issue I encountered.

BEST ANSWER:I am not 100% sure the device will fit your your lathe, however; I can say with complete confidence that this device fits my Central Machinery lathe (Jet knock off) with no issues. It works as promised as long as the operator makes shallow passes. I had to order a replacement handle because I used too much torque. That's the only issue I encountered.

BEST ANSWER:The manual says the Workpiece capacity is 5.9 in (150mm) and the Copy Sample Limiting Dia. is 1.9in (50mm). The tool can travel 2.5" (6cm), which means you can copy a shape up 5" diameter before you have to readjust the tool.

BEST ANSWER:The manual says the Workpiece capacity is 5.9 in (150mm) and the Copy Sample Limiting Dia. is 1.9in (50mm). The tool can travel 2.5" (6cm), which means you can copy a shape up 5" diameter before you have to readjust the tool.

BEST ANSWER:It will. I have a jet and it works. I did have to do a little bit of customizing to make it high enough to reach the spindle. I put shims under where it attaches. Other than that it just takes some time getting used to and messing up a few things in order to figure it out. Best of luck

BEST ANSWER:It will. I have a jet and it works. I did have to do a little bit of customizing to make it high enough to reach the spindle. I put shims under where it attaches. Other than that it just takes some time getting used to and messing up a few things in order to figure it out. Best of luck

Reviews

I've read all of the reviews and one thing that hasn't been mentioned is that the duplication of spindles is so precise, that I don't think that, even the pros could resist, by stating that it is so simple and easy to set up, that my grandson and my future niece will be thrilled in way these cradles have turned out. All of the 40 spindles, are exact and true to the only original one that I had left. Making these heirloom baby cradles have been very enjoyable, with the precise duplicating of the spindles. Thanks to Rockler, I have been able to make two baby cradles at the same time.

I used this duplicator to make over 20 oak spindles. The bit did wear out after the 10th one. I did sharpen it and finished up. I also purchased a 5/16 x 2-1/2 split solid carbide blank which if placed on a slight rotation does fine cutoff work for squaring the spindle shoulders. The spindles had two beads separated by a balloon. They had a dia. Of 2.5 inches and a taper on both ends.

I bought this duplicator several years ago, and ended up leaving it unopened on a shelf. Recently had a need to make multiple turned and carved balusters, and decided a duplicator was necessary for the top 14&quot; section. The manufacturer claims this is intended for a 14&quot; lathe, but it needed 5/8&quot; - 3/4&quot; risers between the bed and mount to fit a lathe that size. I've never seen a consumer duplicator yet that left a smooth finish or can copy a steep parting cut. This was no exception. However, precise parting cuts can easily be made when roughing out the blank before using the duplicator, and it takes very little effort to sand out the minor ridges and irregularities left in the finished work. With one hand on the lever controlling depth of cut, and the other on the wheel guiding movement side to side, the user has ample control of the cutting tool. For the price, it is a good duplicator for occasional use and a worthwhile addition to the shop. Worth noting: the duplicator is supported by sleeves that drop down onto posts. One of the sleeves on mine was not plumb, which forces the mount to not sit flat on the lathe bed -- easy to fix when making a riser block, but an annoyance anyhow.

As always Rockler services is excellent!As far as this duplicator is concerned I agree with the other reviewers. It is a pain in the @!#$! to use. I found myself just ignoring the wheel and sliding the unit along the stock by hand. I found that it is critical that you do not advance the stop screw more than a fraction of an inch per pass or you will get bad tear out! I found this out on some red birch legs I was turning. As far as the final finish is concerned I was able to clean up my turnings with a scraper afterwards which saved me a lot of time on sanding. All in all this duplicator is ok for occasional light and I stress both occasional and light work. Definitely not a production machine. Also another point to mention, Do Not over tighten the cutter set screw. It is soft brass and will strip very easily.

Set up is a challange but, once you have it set up the end results are very good. It is worth the money. I wish the cutting tip lasted longer so, I would recomend buying one or two spares. This duplicator has made my wood working life so much easier.

I have left a review earlier. However, seeing the reviews above I felt I should make another comment. With any machine it requires some setting up. I had to do some work to make it fit my lathe, and align the cutter in the best position. The cutter is a bull nose profile, if you require more fine detail it will need to be re-ground. To this end spare cutters should be purchased. The guide wire did need to be tightened this was an easy job. This type of wire will stretch if left under tension. You have two choices. 1) slacken the thing, or 2) re-tension if it stretches.An item such as this cannot be used straight from the box it will need to be set up. It is fairly heavy so be careful when handling it. I use mine for making legs for Rocking Horse Stands among other things.

Set up wasn't too bad but directions need to be better, the cutter has dulled and there is no instructions for sharpening. If it can't be sharpened they should at least offer it in carbide. One problem is if you lean on the duplicator in any way it changes the geometry and cuts off. I've been using it to make the long section of a candle stick and it tends to be rough and as noted it can't make fine detail cuts. One trick is to rough out the piece before going to the duplicator which saves a great deal of time.

I used this attachment on my metal lathe to cut spindles that were 4 inch dia. 36 inches long. Had to figure out how to attach it to a 1911 lodge and Shipling lathe. Once I did that it worked great. However, turn your work down round before you use the duplicator. I had to put all the metal stuff back on, turn them all down round then put the attachment on and duplicate. Turned about 20 spindles, treated wood knots too. TAKE YOUR TIME

As stated in several of the other reviews, you get what you pay for. It is a good duplicator for the money but certainly not great. But you can always clean up the sharp and deep transitions with hand tools afterward. Two major complaints:1) There is CONSIDERABLE slop in the cutter control rod in that it rotates depending on the direction you are going. This makes fine details very difficult to duplicate. This can be fixed somewhat with a custom bushing around the control shaft to hold it in the slot. But it is an annoyance and more of a problem when turning hard woods.2) Setting the cutting depth is VERY DIFFICULT, can easily slip during adjustment, and damage the part - so BE CAREFUL. An improvement would be to some kind of screw adjustment to the control rod.Otherwise, the unit is OK. It is heavy making set-up something of a battle. But once set, it does make pretty good parts as long as you pay attention to the slop in the cutter control and are comfortable doing the fine finish work by hand.

I had to make some custom brackets for it to be mounted to the bed. The plastic lock handle was broken when I opened the box. It took a long time to figure out the particulars of the product and how it reacted with what I was trying to copy. It is not for high production just suitable for four legs if you want to copy for some individual projects. It is not fast you have to take your time. Conceptually it is designed well and works well but it is missing something to make it a little better. It was a bit too expensive for what it can do.

Recieved my dupilcator today. This is a very good duplicator for the money, Yes it does take some setting up, but what piece of equipment doesn't? Took me 1/2 a day to get comfortable with it, but by 7:00pm that night, I was turning out 2-3 26&quot; porch spindles per hour. All in all in my opinion, this was a good purchase, have been very pleased with all of my Rockler purchases.

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You have no obligation to purchase the product once you know the price. You can simply remove the item from your cart.

Our price is lower than the manufacturer's "minimum advertised price." As a result, we cannot show you the price in catalog or the product page.

You have no obligation to purchase the product once you know the price. You can simply remove the item from your cart.

What People are Saying:

I have been using Rockler for years, your products are always the best that can be purchased and your prices are very reasonable. Ann you have always done your best to make me feel as though I was your very best customer. Thank you for great service."

- Daniel F.

What People are Saying:

I have been using Rockler for years, your products are always the best that can be purchased and your prices are very reasonable. Ann you have always done your best to make me feel as though I was your very best customer. Thank you for great service."